I had a dream around the time of Winter Solstice in which my friend Lauren and I were doing a Ceremony together to welcome the Returning Light of the Sun.

When I called Lauren to share the dream she said she’d also had a dream about Solstice, but in her dream Grandfather Sun communicated to her.
“I am having a hard time getting through,” Grandfather confided. “I need some help.”

The ongoing disruption and rapid pace of our changing times presents us with challenges that feel so overwhelming they can threaten to drag us down. As things become more chaotic and uncertain, it is easy for optimism to fly right out the window or, at the very least, be a lot more difficult to sustain. Cynicism, hopelessness, despair, anxiety, polarizing blame and anger that we might once have worked through more easily can settle in like a dark fog on a windless day, clouding our minds and making it more difficult for the Light to enter.

Grief is normal in transitional times. The emotions that arise within us need to be honored and heard. In the Buddhist practice of Tonglen, we are encouraged to welcome the pain we feel into the compassionate space of the open heart. No fixing, no judging, just allowing a space for overwhelming feelings to express and be held. 

I like to invite one (or all!) of the Goddesses of Compassion to merge with my heart when I am doing Tonglen, thereby amplifying the strength and power of my practice. Kwan Yin, Sophia, Mother Mary, Mother Earth, and the Saint Amma-ji are a few we can call on for support. 

The next step is to open our hearts to all other beings struggling with the same pain. When we do this, we realize the pain we feel is not just ours alone. The primary wound of separation that we all share begins to dissolve as the broken web of interconnection is rewoven.

Lauren and I did our Solstice Ceremony beginning as always, by giving thanks for the darkness of the season that encourages us to go within ourselves. After ritually welcoming the Returning Light, we ended our Ceremony by intentionally opening our hearts to fully take in that Light. We thanked Grandmother Earth and our bodies for receiving the life giving Light of Grandfather. Then we prayed that all beings may do the same. We made a commitment to leave an offering on the Earth each day with the same prayer, our intention being to open the way for Grandfather’s Light to penetrate through and revitalize, bless and guide us all, no matter how dark things might seem.

Leaving offerings on the land is a vital part of our daily prayer. In this Ceremony we chose to leave a pinch of hawthorn each day with our prayer. Central to Celtic traditions, hawthorn helps open, yet protect our hearts.

Offerings to feed the spirits can come in many forms. Tobacco, corn meal, a bit of food from our plates, coffee, tea leaves, rose petals, a song or drumming are but a few examples. 

Lauren and I invite you to join us in opening each day to the Light coming through Grandfather Sun. We leave an offering each day with a prayer for the Light to penetrate through and dispel the thick clouds of despair and delusion that threaten to engulf too many of us.

Let us all join hands to Dream the Good Dream, a Dream that reweaves the broken web of interconnection with all living beings.

May the Light of Each Sunrise Bless You All, 

Deborah Frances/Dancing Crow

Lauren Morgan

References:
For more information on Ceremony, refer to the most excellent book, The Power of Ceremony, by Linda Neale

YouTube “Dream the Good Dream” with Dancing Crow

The works of American Buddhist Pema Chodron for more on Tonglen